


Pretty Damned Good / Better than Good

by theauthor2010



Category: Glee
Genre: Brotherly Fluff, Gen, Homophobia, sibling relationships
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2011-04-26
Updated: 2011-04-26
Packaged: 2017-10-18 17:10:00
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,158
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/191236
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/theauthor2010/pseuds/theauthor2010
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Finn realizes just how much Kurt goes through when he picks up the phone.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Pretty Damned Good / Better than Good

**Author's Note:**

> Written in October. I really need to finish archiving my stuff.

_"I hope your faggot son burns in Hell."_

Confused, he raised an eyebrow at the deep voice on the phone, but a slow realization crossed Finn's face seconds later. "Who the Hell is this?" he asked sharply, quickly becoming angry as he realized exactly what was going on.

 _"Hope you're ashamed Hummel. Fuckin' disgrace."_

The phone clicked and the voice was gone. They had thought that he was Burt. Well duh, he had answered Burt's phone. He swallowed. How could anyone talk about Kurt like that? Kurt was gay, out and proud...but, but, that didn't matter! Kurt was Kurt and there was absolutely nothing wrong with being gay. Sure, the jocks at school were dumb and made snide comments about it behind Kurt's back but Finn had never really heard something so laced with obvious hatred. At school it was too easy to brush it off as just idiots being idiots trying to stir up something. This voice had sounded like an adult and it was full of venom.

He hung up the phone and went into the kitchen. His mom was cooking and Kurt's dad was at the table. Burt was looking well considering all he had been through and to Finn that was a considerable relief, but still the call...it just shook his head up a little bit. He looked to them, concerned.

"Finn? You look paler than I do and that's sayin' something."

He sunk down into the seat next to Burt's. "Where's Kurt?" he asked quietly.

"Out with those girls - Mercedes and Brittany," the man replied. "Told him he needed some time to relax and stop worryin' about me. What's going on?"

At that his mother turned to them too; Finn felt as though he was being put on trial. "I picked up the phone.."

Burt frowned and Finn realized that he understood immediately. Was this a common occurance? Finn didn't understand.  "Oh kid," he said quietly.

Finn's mother looked confused. "What is it?" she asked.

Burt groaned and rubbed a hand over his forehead. He did not look prepared to talk to them about what he was going to talk to them about but he tried his best. "Carole, Finn. I suppose if you two are gonna start livin' here again you best be prepared. Kurt and I...get some phone calls sometimes. They can be anywhere from downright harassment to threatening us." 

His mom turned off the cooking, taking the pot off the boiler. She joined them at the table. "What kinda calls?" she asked.

Finn found it hard to look up from the table, as he kept replaying those words in his head, over and over. "They thought I was you," he told Burt, shaking his head. "Called Kurt a...you know. Said he was going to Hell." Finn had never realized how painful that word would be. He felt guilty, ashamed and he admired his future family so much now. How could Kurt and his father deal with that on a regular basis? So much hate directed straight at them...Finn would crumble.

"Oh no," his mom breathed out.

"It's not uncommon Carole. Started around a year ago. Bastards forced Kurt to blow a solo thing the first time I picked up a call, kid was so afraid of them hurting me." Burt growled a little and there was so much pain in his weary eyes.

"Blew a solo..." Finn mumbled. Okay his memory was crap most of the time but he remembered _that_ solo. It was the infamous Diva-Off, where Kurt and his father urged Shue to give Kurt a chance to sing against Rachel for that solo from some musical. Damn it. She hadn't won that part fairly at all, because of these bastards.

Finn briefly entertained how his girlfriend would react to finding that news out, but his mother's voice broke him from that thought pattern.

"Oh poor baby," he heard his mom whisper.

"How does he handle it?" Finn asked choked up. "How do you?" He knew that he himself was weak. He'd break under the outside pressure, the hate.

Burt gave a shrug. "Kid is tough as nails," he said seriously. "Always has been. He's taken a hell of a lot of crap from the people around him and I'm ashamed to say that up to last year I was kind of clueless to all of it." 

Finn gave a tiny nod. He really had been clueless, probably, to all of the things the McKinley jocks had done to Kurt. All of the things that he had taken part in. Hell, he hadn't even really cut Kurt a break after all of that stuff. The thing with Sam. He had blown up on his stepbrother for having a crush and acting on it in the same way Finn would have for a girl he was into. Damn, he was being stupid. Kurt already had enough shit to deal with. Finn was admittedly freaked by the crush but he should have thought from all angles of the thing. It was kind of just adding another sucky thing on the top of a pile of sucky things.

Not that all Kurt's life was a pile of sucky things...it was just that...

He needed to stop thinking.

"I don't think it's your fault," he mumbled, as he noticed the older man staring off and his mom hugging him from the side. "I think people just suck. They...don't realize how hard it is for someone like Kurt and they make it harder. Or...people like those calls do want to hurt him and you but you know what I mean." 

His mom was looking at him like he was kind of insane. Finn's face turned red.

"I get what you mean son," Burt mumbled a little bit. "I'm his dad and I feel guilty sometimes about the stuff I did in the past that was - not hateful, I knew he was gay for a long time - but...discouraging. It just wasn't something I was used to right off and I had to get better." 

"I kind of want to hug him," Finn admitted, shaking his head. "Just apologize for all the times I've contributed to the suck... and tell him he's freakin' awesome for all he puts up with. You too."

This made Kurt's father smile, so he supposed it was the right thing to say. He got up and hugged the man. "I'll be back before dinner. I gotta go do something real quick." 

"Where are you headed Finn?" his mom asked soft.

"Um. Mercedes' place. It's just up the road." 

Burt looked at Carole and gave her a sly smile as Finn walked out of the room. "You got a good kid there, Carole," he said honestly. "He's sixteen, he screws up like the best of his age, but he's a damned good kid." 

She just grinned. "I know," she said. "So do you. This whole family? Pretty damned good."

-

  
"Um, there's a boy downstairs looking for you Kurt."

Kurt looked to Mercedes who glanced back with a frown. They both looked to her mother who just gave a shrug that said _as if I know_. Kurt shrugged and got up. Mercedes followed him downstairs intrigued. Neither of them expected Finn to be standing in front of them.

He waved awkwardly. "Uh hi...sorry for interrupting um, whatever it is you two do together. Can I talk to Kurt for a second Mercedes?"

"Ask him," she said crossing her arms. That, ladies and gentlemen, was why Mercedes Jones was Kurt’s best friend and would always be.

"Um sure," Kurt said with a slight hesitation. What on earth was Finn doing there? He had not been getting along with Finn lately and there was really no reason for him to be standing in front of his best friend’s door. It made Kurt feel a little indignant, though he wasn’t sure why. This was kind of a private night in for him and Mercedes and Finn was interrupting.

He glanced back towards the door where Mercedes' mom was staring at him like he was going to jump Finn any second. Kurt had to give them credit for being very open and always allowing him over, and he was sure they'd do the same if a boy came calling for their daughter in the early night, but it was still really uncomfortable. "Let's go outside. Mercedes’ mom keeps staring at me like you're my...man or something. It's not at all comfortable.."

Mercedes stifled a smirk. "I'll let her know there will be no hot man loving in or near our house," she said firmly. "Have fun boys."

Kurt followed Finn outside. "Sorry, hopefully your reputation isn't ruined now that people think you're my boyfriend," he muttered. Yeah, he supposed he was still a little annoyed at Finn even though he thought he’d moved past his annoyance. Damn it, when did he get so petty with things.

"I'm sure Mercedes...oh," he mumbled. "I just wanted to talk to you for a few."

Finn sat down firmly on the front deck. Kurt sat next to him, crossing his legs. He hoped his look conveyed to Finn that he better talk now. He was starting to get confused.

"I picked up your dad's phone today," he mumbled. "It was a call about..."

Kurt groaned. So that was what this was about. Finn had been on the receiving end of one of those phone calls. Sucked to be him. "Yeah I get what it was about Finn. Damn it, it's been a good two weeks. I thought they were…getting better.”

"How come nobody told me about that kind of stuff? I could have-"

Kurt held up a hand. "You could have helped me blend in enough to not get bullied?" Okay, he knew he was being bitchy now and apologized. “Sorry Finn.” It was rude of him. Finn had some good points doing the things he did. He just acted like a big buffoon in the process of trying to do them.

Finn groaned. "Cut me a break Kurt," he said. "It's hard..."

“It’s not that hard to be supportive Finn,” Kurt said. All he wanted really was for the other boy to support him. To be unafraid to take Kurt exactly for what he was. He didn’t love the guy anymore but he honestly wanted his friendship – so bad. He wanted a friend, a guy friend for heaven's sake, who understood who he was and was okay with that.

"No, to be brave," he mumbled and it was an honest statement. Kurt could tell he was sincere. Then again, sincerity was kind of Finn’s thing. Stupidity yes, but sincerity too. "I don't get how you act so brave and are so unafraid to like, be yourself, when you know it makes it worse. I never meant to hurt you. Dude, we're like sort of siblings. I only said that shit to protect you."

"And your precious club," Kurt said but his icy side was softening slightly. Finn was so damned genuine. This was why he had fallen in love with him in the first place.

"It wasn't all noble but I was worried too."

Kurt looked up and straight into his eyes. "I guess I get that. Anyway Finn ignore those calls ok?"

"But ... We can't! Let's get caller ID and like kick some ass."

Kurt burst out laughing at that. "You're adorable when you're angry. Was it...really bad? Or standard fag-fare as I call it?"

"Standard I guess but wow dude."

Kurt put an arm on his arm. “Finn, it’s something I’m used to. It hurts like hell and the first time my dad got one of those stupid, ignorant phone calls I wanted to die. Literally.”

“Your dad told me you…blew that song last year,” Finn mumbled and Kurt wanted to die of mortification. What the hell – why had his dad dragged that up? It was over a year ago. Kurt was just starting to learn how to deal with that blow. Come on!

"I did what I had to for him," Kurt said firmly. "If we'd gone with my solo it would have caused dad a lot of pain. He wasn't used to it yet. Trust me, your precious Rachel won't get the next one. Dad's stronger and so am I." 

Finn frowned a little bit. "Kurt I'm really, really sorry for all the things you go through and  I know that sorry doesn't exactly fix it but you're a lot tougher than you look. You're the toughest guy I know." 

Kurt looked up. "Mean that?" 

"Yeah. I uh, said it, didn't I? Are we good Kurt? I wanna start being a good friend and I know I suck sometimes but you go through a lot and you're not alone, not ever, okay?" 

Kurt had to smile. "Yeah, yeah, we're good."


End file.
